


Realisations and collapses

by ClaraCivry (Kat_Of_Dresden)



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Bruises, Gen, Hurt Number Five | The Boy, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Past Child Abuse, Pointless, Post-Canon, Post-Season/Series 02, Protective Siblings, Weirdness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:48:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26274352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kat_Of_Dresden/pseuds/ClaraCivry
Summary: Post season two.After an attack from a Sparrow academy person, the Hargreeves see just how many bruises and injuries their brother got while saving their asses and the world.Pointless oneshot of realisations, unhelpful Five, bruises and just moments of people understanding a bit more what Five has done.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & Diego Hargreeves, Number Five | The Boy & The Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 331





	Realisations and collapses

One of the guys at the Sparrow academy had the weirdest power. He could create, like others create saliva or sweat, small black leech-like parasites, that were very poisonous. A protection mechanism of sorts, gone wild. 

And that particular Sparrow academy boy thought them impostors that were trying to steal their home, their dad, and their place saving the world, and the city. If that damned "umbrella academy" got what they wanted, they would lose everything, and that was a risk he wasn't going to take, despite dad's warning not to interact. 

So he'd shaken hands with them, patted them on the back, anything he could to spread his poison, and weaken those he saw as enemies. It wasn't something noticeable, at first, just some light-headedness, some queasyness. A noticeable exhaustion, feeling drowsy and sleepy and then, finally, blue patches of skin, loss of consciousness. And then, even more finally, death 

The only way to stop the infection, or the posioning, or whatever it could be called, was taking off all the little black balls of parasite from the skin, and wait it out. But the things were very small and since the starting symptoms were relatively unnoticeable... 

They realised something was wrong when Diego passed out in the middle of a "briefing". Klaus got some info on who it had been and how it had happened thanks to someone called Niko, who'd been a victim of that boy too. 

Diego had little black bugs all over his back, which explained why his symptoms were so serious. But the others had some on them, too. 

Klaus a couple on his neck. 

Vanya in her wrist and going up her arm. 

Allison all through a leg. She sighed. This needed to be dealt with, and fast.

"Ok, guys, we are going to have to make sure that we don't have anything else on us, so we strip down to our underwear and check each other, ok? We don't know what else these little things can do, maybe they can track our movements, I don't know, but we need them off, the sooner the better, all right? And we won't be squeamish, this is our health we are talking about, our lives. Before you complain, I'll do Luther since it will take the longest time, Klaus you check Diego for anything we may have missed, and the you get Vanya to check you and maybe then you check her too." 

"What about Five?"

"I can check myself."

"Not all the way through your back, you can't!" Klaus said. "Remember healthhhh is on the line." 

"Well, Klaus, you get Five, for talking."

Klaus groaned, but he actually didn't mind that much. Double checking Diego was a small task, and watching Five, crochety as he might be, didn't sound too hard either. For all his years, Five was small, and skinny. He would feel like he'd done something without that much work. 

"Now I know you love that uniform, old man, but it has to come off for a bit. Woudn't be good for the timeline if our smarter guy dropped down dead before fixing the world, right?"

"FINE." Five said, in a voice full of anger, clearly saying that this was not fucking fine, but he would do it anyways. He took off his shirt. 

Klaus forgot about the bugs, the Sparrow academy, Antonio Banderas, all of it. 

It was a horror show. 

Five's chest, stomach and back were marred with bruised, half healed wounds, gashes, abrassions... His midsection was like an abstract painting made in reds and blues, and it looked so extremely painful Klaus forgot how to breathe and think for a bit. 

"Oh, my god, Five!" Vanya did find her voice. "What the hell?"

How did her brother end up looking like someone who'd been through rounds of torture? How had he been standing like that, as if nothing happened, when all him was black and blue. You couldn't see much through the uniform, but...

"Who hurt you like that?" Luther said. 

Someone needed to pay, it wasn't right that Five had been hurt like this and no one was paying. Five seemed even smaller like this, and he cursed the world.

Now all the eyes were on him, black parasites completely forgotten Five would have jumped, but he had a notion that the boy had done something to his back, and he didn't want to pass out like Diego had. 

"A number of people. It's not important."

"A number of people?" Allison said, speaking every word clearly and slowly. "You mean it's been more than one time that you've been beaten?"

"Well... there was the Swedes at the gala I went with Diego, then there was Lila, there was my older-younger self, there was that lady at the hotel angry that I broke her vending machine..."

Allison kept shaking her head, not wanting to think of what this meant, suddenly and very graphically realising just how much Five had done to get them back. Which was a lot. And it was hurtful 

"And is that... Is that the shrapnel wound? From when we were at Jenkins' attic? That was like two timelines ago, how is it still bleeding?" she was feeling so broken hearted... Five had been fighting for them and for the world so long, had he forgot to look after himself in any way? 

"Well, it keeps getting reopened with everyone constantly shooting at me." He said, angry. "Can we stay on task? Klaus, I..."

Klaus wasn't speaking, had lost his voice, looking at a faint scar on his brother's back. He knew that shape. They all did. But for it to be shaped so clear on the skin... This wasn't just the Swedes or some other enemy. This was someone much closer to home, and to them.

"How did he do it, Five?" he said, when he found his voice again "did he burn your skin with it?"

"What are you talking about, Klaus?" Vanya said, not liking this.

"Look. What does that on his back look like?"

They all looked, and they all saw. 

"It's one of dad's canes. He'd used it for punshiments, I knew, but.... Five...." Klaus had known that dad had tried every strategy to keep Five compliant, to get him to obey. 

Because Five hadn't wanted to obey. Five had had a mind of his own, and he hadn't been pliant. And mind games didn't work that well on him - he could see them for what they were, manipulation, fear tactics, power plays. He was smart like that. 

But he never thought... It had got this physical.

"So dad beat me up. So he branded me so I didn't forget who I belonged to. It's ancient history, ok? We must focus on the now."

It was hard. Vanya wanted to explode Reginald into little pieces, even if she knew that this was not the one that had hurt Five because in this timeline they were strangers. But she wouldn't think of him - now that was not important.Vanya sighed, looked at her brother fondly. He was a caring guy, but sometimes he got lost in all his missions and issues. 

"Well, the now you has three active bleeds in his stomach and chest, and probably more bruises than ribs. You have to tell us these things, Five, hiding injuries helps no one. Look at Diego, hitting his dumb head as he fell because he didn't tell us he was feeling bad. Now, who does that help? Be logical, Five."

Well, that was an argument he could do little against. 

".... bruises heal. You didn't need to know."

Allison sighed. 

"Maybe we want to know? That must be hurting a lot, Five, you must be in so much pain... Maybe if you told us we could've got you some painkillers, some pillows, maybe some more time to rest."

"And if I had known what he did to you, Five, I..." Luther was pale. Five hadn't been his favourite person, but he was his brother, and he'd been hurt in ways that were not justifiable. If he had known...

"That's not important right now, ok, Luther?" 

"You are important, Five, in this and every timeline." Vanya said. "You were always important to me, if you had told me..."

"I'm fine." Five said, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head and then closed, his knees buckling. Klaus caught him before he hit the floor, noticed how light he was and then something else. 

Oh, yeah, the bugs. Almost forgot that. 

*

When he woke up again, he felt... refreshed. He was in an unknown bed and felt as if he slept for a million years. 

All his bleeding wounds had been dressed, and there a faint smell of menthol on his bruises from some type of ointment. Odd. 

Diego was on the next bed, eating some cereal. 

"The guys are out, fighting some of them Sparrow guys. Allison rumoured them so they wouldn't come around here." 

Well, that was good to know. 

"I hadn't known you got so beat at the gala. Sorry I didn't ask if you were fine, I should've."

Five... he wanted to complain, say that was preposterous, something. But couldn't find the strength. He wanted to be able to... be quiet for once, not pretend he was fine. 

He wasn't fine. He'd been beaten, been in two explosions in one week (at the prosthetics place and then at the commission), had been shot uncountable times... Maybe it would have been nice if Diego had asked. It would have been nice if someone had done something about his wounds, recent or otherwise. 

Before he collapsed. Again. 

"And just so you know, he beat me up too. Because of the stutter. Never to Luther or Allison, I know, he liked to pretend it was only the one of us, because we were so terrible and irredeemable."

"Look at what you make me do."

"Exactly. But we don't need to talk about that, if you don't want to. Just... I'll listen. And sometimes getting it out helpse with the nightmares."

"Thanks, Diego."

"You're welcome, old man. Just... don't follow my bad example and say something when you're hurt, all right? We shouldn't need weird poison parasites for these things. Your ribs hurt because of bruises, you complain. You were the one who said that we shouldn't be defined by how dad messed us up. We have... move beyond this fear of being weak, you know what I mean? Before it's too late and we fuck up in a way that can't be fixed."

That was very wise, which felt odd... But still. Diego had had a job, a place to stay, an ex girlfriend he remained friends with before Five showed up. Maybe he was more functional and wise than they gave him credit for. 

"I... I think I'll keep that in mind."

Five closed his eyes again, breathed, prepared himself to sleep again. 

Maybe he owed the Sparrow academy guy a thank you. 

For giving him a chance to sleep, allowing him to share his pain, exorcising some ages old ghosts. 

Now he had a chance to stop pretending, and let others fight, while he recovered and lost himself in mentol scented dreams. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> If you did please let me know!


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